


A Lifetime

by Vegorott



Series: A Lifetime [1]
Category: markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, M/M, Physical Abuse, description of murder, most of the warnings are for the first three chapters, then it turns into a slow burn romance with those themes discussed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 19,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21842176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vegorott/pseuds/Vegorott
Summary: ‘All he has is a lifetime of being trapped, he never’s known what it’s like to be free and if you think you can get him to escape. I won’t stop you.’
Relationships: Yancy/Illinois, yanois
Series: A Lifetime [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770043
Comments: 67
Kudos: 104





	1. Like Me

“Are you still waiting for your parents?” 

“Nah.” Yancy scuffed his foot against the cement stairs he has been sitting on. He turned his head towards the janitor and gave a small smile. “Friend went in, forgot his trumpet.” 

“Alright, don’t be scared to come in and use the phone.” The old man said with his own smile and went back into the high school building. 

“What a way to start high school.” Yancy sighed and stood up. “Should have known better.” He added as he threw his backpack over his shoulder, preparing himself for the long walk home. 

Yancy chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to stick with familiar-looking streets, hoping he’d find one he knew soon. He tried to memorize the drive to the school that morning, but there’s a difference when it’s dark out and it being the middle of the day. He was telling himself that he should be thankful that his mother bothered to drive him to school this morning on her way to, what she called 'work' since he had no idea how to get there yet. 

He perked up when he saw a chunk of tress in a forest-like area that he knew very well. Yancy crossed the street and went straight into the woods. It only took another minute before he found a chunk of street sign stabbed into the trunk of a tree. He finally knew where he was and could get home easily now.

“Look out!” A voice shouted from above and Yancy jumped to the side, seeing a boy his age land on his back where he had just been. 

“Hey, Howard." Yancy chuckled. 

“Hey, Yanc.” Howard greeted with an out of breath laugh. “Are you just now heading home? Class ended like hours ago.” 

“Parents didn’t bother showin’.” Yancy scoffed as he bent down and picked up Howard’s fallen hat. “It’s whatever, not really shocked.” 

“I can call my mom if you want.” Howard offered, sitting up. 

“I like walking.” Yancy shrugged and picked some leaves out of the hat's brim. He always got a warm feeling whenever he saw that Howard still wore the hat he had 'bought' him when they were eight. Howard thought the hat was cool and Yancy wanted to prove he was cool too.

“I can join you.” Howard had an obvious hope in his voice.

“Yeah, it'll make the walk funner.” Yancy placed the hat on Howard’s head and helped him to his feet. The two walked for a good moment, talking about their classes and Howard suddenly got soft.

“Can I ask you something?” Howard picked at his fingers. 

“Fire away, Howdy.” Yancy chuckled. 

“So there’s...there’s this...uh…” Howard’s face was flushing pink. “There’s this really cool person and I think they’re...cool.” 

“Is the Howdy crushin’?” Yancy teased, wrapping his arm around Howard’s shoulder and pulling him closer, not realizing that it made Howard’s cheeks turn red. “Listen, yous wanna be that big ol’ adventuring type, right?” 

“Y-Yes.” 

“Then act like one.” Yancy patted Howard’s cheek with a hand before letting him go. “I know yous are brave. You climb up literally everythin’.” 

“The best adventurers are strong,” Howard said, using his hands to hide his blush. 

“And you are! Now you gotta get that confidence.” Yancy skipped ahead so he was walking backward and in front of Howard. “Find that inner smooth guy and use it.” 

“Inner smooth guy?” 

“Yeah! Like me.” 

“Like you?” Howard raised a brow and laughed when Yancy leaped ahead once more and was standing on top of a fallen tree. 

“Like me,” Yancy repeated. “Smooth, confident, brave, and strong.” Yancy posed by placing his hands behind his head. “You’re already halfway there.” 

“I can be smooth and suave.” Howard posed himself, tucking a thumb into his belt and popping his hip out. 

“Yous gonna be the best adventurer the world’s ever seen.” Yancy hopped back down. “We’re here.” He added, his mood dropping for a second when he saw his house past the trees. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Howard asked. 

“Of course! And yous gonna ask that cool person out, alright?” 

“I’ll do it!” Howard had a large smile on his face and watched as Yancy walked away. “You’re really cool, Yancy.” 

Yancy walked up to his house and instead of going to the front door, he went around to the back. Yancy climbed up a few wooden boxes that were stacked along the side of the house. He took out a screwdriver out of the gutter and grunted as he used it to pry open a window. 

“You’re a stupid fucking bitch!” 

“You’re a fucking asshole!”

Yancy heard his parents screaming and it wasn’t anything new, at least they haven’t been looking for him. He’d be in for a world of hurt if they wanted him and he wasn’t there. No excuses, no reasons, it was his fault if he wasn’t there.

Yancy crawled into his bedroom, landing on his bed with a squeak. He paused to a second and when he didn't hear his name being shouted, he started putting his school stuff away. Hiding them in small nooks and under floorboards so his parents couldn’t destroy them if they found them. 

“Just shut up!” Yancy’s father’s voice cracked. 

“You should grow up! You sound like you’re still going through-” A sharp slap cut off Yancy’s mother comment. “Fuck you!” There was another slap and soon things were clattering and shattering, two sounds Yancy knew very well and told him that he had a long night of cleaning ahead of him.

Yancy changed his clothes to a pair of sweat pants and a white shirt, pocketing the screwdriver before gently folding his school’s uniform and hiding it in a bag under his dresser. His parents didn’t know he had to wear a uniform and they never will. The only reason he was in a decent school was that his mother had known the principal when they were younger and he owed her some favors. It was also the closest one. That’s really what his parents cared about. 

“One of those nights,” Yancy said with a grimace when he heard moaning. “Hopefully they make it to a room this time.” He added to himself and slipped on a pair of headphones, cranking up the music so he could drown out his parent’s sounds. He’ll wait till they’re asleep before going down to make food, it was the safest way. 


	2. Pushed Too Far

The house had been silent for a good twenty minutes, meaning that Yancy's parents were finally asleep. Yancy opened his door and walked out to the kitchen, sighing when he found shattered glass everywhere and the pots and pans in the same state.

Yancy knew there were a few boxes of mac and cheese he had stolen from the store still in the hole in the wall behind the trashcan. He could make that while getting a start on the cleaning. 

Before cooking, he first peeked into the living room, finding both parents passed out, naked on the couch with bottles of empty beer around them. He’ll save cleaning that up last. Yancy picked up a pot from the floor and brushed his fingers along the inside, feeling that it was clean and could be used. He grabbed a bottle of water from the dwindling supply that he was going to have to stock up soon. Yancy used a lighter to turn on the stove, filled the pot with the bottled water and had that go while he went to his hidden stash and pulled out a box of mac and cheese. 

“Two? Damn it.” Yancy said to himself, he could have sworn he had more. “Looks like I’m definitely shopping tomorrow.” He tore open the cardboard and poured the dried pasta into the warming pot. Yancy turned the heat up more, got a broom and started sweeping up the glass. Why his parents kept getting glassware when they’d destroy it within a week, he never understood. There were a lot of things he didn’t understand. 

_ “It’s a hard-knock life, for us.”  _ Yancy softly sang as he cleaned. _ “Instead of treated, we get tricked. Instead of kisses, we get-” _

“What’s with the fucking singing?” Yancy’s father asked loudly with a laugh as he threw himself on Yancy’s back. Yancy stepped away and watched his father stumble over his own weight. 

“You making us food?” Yancy’s mother was at the stove, looking at the cooking pasta.

“I’m making me food,” Yancy mumbled. 

“Don’t be a selfish bitch.” Yancy’s father placed his hand on Yancy’s face and shoved him away. “You don’t need all that, look at ya.” Yancy’s father pointed at Yancy’s stomach. “And don’t be saying that it’s ‘muscle’.” Yancy’s father scoffed and he went over to the stove as well. 

“I haven’t eaten today,” Yancy said, feeling his chest tighten as he watched his parents drain the pasta. It was far from being cooked. 

“What about lunch?” Yancy’s father said. "You go to school, don't you?"

“I gotta piss.” Yancy’s mother bluntly announced and walked off. 

“I wasn’t given lunch money,” Yancy stated. 

“Not my fault.” Yancy’s father dumped the cheese powder into the pot and stirred. 

“Yous my father, yo-”

“Stop fucking talking like that!” Yancy’s father screamed. “We’re from Ohio, you numb-nuts! I don’t even know where you even got the idea for that bullshit!” Yancy just swallowed thickly. “I’m thinking it’s from those stupid-ass musicals you listen to. It’s fucking with your brain.” Yancy gritted his teeth, hands gripping the broom handle tightly. “Next thing you’re going to tell me is that weird kid with the hat is your boyfriend.” Yancy’s father shoved a spoonful of pasta into his mouth. 

“He’s not weird.” Yancy could feel anger boiling deep in his chest at the insult to his friend. He took a step back when his father suddenly spat loudly, hacking from the hard pieces that got stuck in his throat. 

“What the fuck is this!? Are you trying to kill me!?” Yancy’s father launched himself at Yancy. Yancy swung out with the broom and struck his father across the face. “You fucking brat!” Yancy had the broom yanked out of his hand.

Yancy barely had time to react before he was roughly thrown to the ground and with his father sitting on his chest, slamming his fist into his face. Yancy tried to protect himself with his arms but they were shoved away. He felt something snap in his nose after a particularly hard punch. This was going too far, this was getting dangerous, he could taste nothing but blood and couldn't breathe. There a sharp stab in his thigh and that reminded him what was in his pocket. Yancy struggled under his father and managed to hook his screwdriver out of his pocket and without a second thought, he stabbed the tip into his father’s neck. Yancy shoved his father away as the man gasped for air and Yancy was now the one on top, screaming as he stabbed the screwdriver over and over again into his father’s face, only stopping when he heard his mother’s voice. 

“How could you!?” Yancy was pushed away from his father and soon his mother was hitting him, aiming for the back of his head. “You ungrateful bitch! After everything your father and I have done for you!” Yancy screamed out once more and threw his mother against the kitchen wall. He went on top of her and grabbed her by the neck, eyes glazed over with rage as his mother gasped out and clawed at his arms, not strong enough to make him stop. Her attacks soon weakened. Her arms fell down. And soon she was just staring up at Yancy with empty eyes.

“Ma?” Yancy took his hands away and looked at them. Soaked with blood and trembling. “Oh, God.” Yancy felt tears forming in his eyes, his stomach turning at the sight of the mess that was his father. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.” Yancy crawled away from his dead mother and made his way into the corner of the room. “I just...I just wanted...I…” Yancy curled up into himself, unaware of the blood dripping down his broken nose and the gash on his cheek. He was used to pain like this, his body had scars all over it for a reason. But this was different. This was really different. 

Hours went by with Yancy just sitting and staring. He didn’t know what to think, what to do. He was lost. He was broken and the weight of the world suddenly crashed down on top of him and he fell asleep, slumping over against the wall. 

Yancy woke up to nothing. His body aching from the uncomfortable position.

He blinked a few times and scratched at the dried blood on his arm, seeing the bodies and making it clear that it was not, in fact, a dream. 

He’s a murderer. 

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” A young woman’s voice said on the phone. 

“There’s been a murder,” Yancy’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“A murder?”

“Yeah, two of ‘em...my parents.” 

“Sir, are you safe where you are?”

“I guess.” Yancy blinked away his tears. “I am now.” 

“Where are you?” 

“197 Applegate Road,” Yancy answered. 

“There’s an officer at the other end of town, they’ll be there soon. Do you know where the murderer went?” 

“I’m right here.” Yancy sniffed. “Take me away...please.”

“Can you tell me what happened?” Yancy stayed silent. “Sir, sir are you still there? Can you tell me what happened? Sir-” 

“I don’t wanna be free.” 


	3. Taken Away

Howard sat with his legs crossed on his bedroom floor, a bowl of cereal in his lap and a police radio in front of him. Howard has a close relation to the police force here and other places and he wanted to know what was happening with them. A few months ago Yancy found that someone was selling a police radio on the down low and he managed to get it for Howard, the price being a bloody nose and almost broken arm. Howard paid him back with some cookies his mom made since Yancy refused to take anything else, saying he was just doing a favor for a friend. Yancy was a great friend, he was thoughtful, kind, caring and a lot smarter than most would give him credit for and Howard was thankful for having him in his life and he was finally ready to do what he's been threatening to for a while.

“Double 187, I repeat, double 187 at 197 Applegate Road.” Howard almost choked on his food. 

_ Double homicide. _

“Yancy!” Howard quickly scrambled to his feet. 

“The suspect is confirmed to be there and the victim’s-” Howard was out of the house and sprinting before he could hear the rest of the report.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Howard cursed as he ran, heart-pounding. Howard knew that Yancy’s parents weren’t the best. His mother was forgetful and he’s been told that his dad got angry but there was no way that he would do anything to his wife and child, right? “Fuck!” Howard screamed his curse and started running faster as an ambulance blew past him. “Please, please, please,” Howard begged to anyone that would listen as he neared the house. 

“Stay back, kid.” A police officer ordered, using his arm to cut Howard short. 

“My friend lives there! Is he okay!? Please tell me he’s-Yancy!” Howard tried to push past the officer when he saw Yancy being lead out of the house, hands cuffed behind him and body covered in blood. “Yancy! Yancy!” 

“Calm down, kid.” The officer grunted, holding Howard back. 

“Yancy! Yancy, are you okay!?” Howard screamed, trying to be heard over everything. “Yancy!” Howard stopped when Yancy was put into a cop car that drove away. "What..."

“Go home. Trust me.” The officer turned Howard around. 

“They were screaming last night, but those two are always screaming.” Yancy’s neighbor, an elderly woman, was speaking to a different officer. “I’ve told you time and time again to do something but you never listened and look at what happened. That poor boy.” 

“Mrs. Policzek?” Howard went over to the woman. 

“Oh, Howard, dear.” Mrs. Policzek pulled Howard into a hug. “I’m sorry about what happened to Yancy.” 

“What happened?”

“Yancy killed his parents.” Mrs. Policzek said bluntly.

“He…” Howard went stiff.

“Ma’am, can we finish our interview please. I only have a few more questions.” The officer asked.

“Can’t you see this poor boy is in shock. Shoo, shoo, I’ll talk to you later.” Mrs. Policzek waved the officer away. 

“Ma’am-”

“Just give me a moment.” Mrs. Policzek slipped off Howard's hat and rubbed a caring hand through his hair. "It's okay."

“Some-Something has to be-be wrong." Howard sniffed. "Yancy wouldn't, he couldn't, h-he...he..."

“Howard, look at me, look at me, dear.” Mrs. Policzek said. “Put on a brave face. You’re a strong boy and you’ll make it through this. Do what you do best. Be brave.” Mrs. Policzek placed the hat back on Howard's head. "Follow your heart."

“Yes, ma'am.” Howard looked at the officer, who was tapping his foot impatiently. “I’m going to make a call.”

“Okay, dear.” Mrs. Policzek gave Howard a pat on the head to make sure the hat was nice and on before Howard walked away. Howard pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, walking when the person picked up. 

“Hey, Uncle Slaw,” Howard said. “Could you do me a favor? Yancy’s in trouble.” 

_ x~x~x _

Yancy, silent ever since the police showed up at his home, sat at a small table in another one of those weird interview rooms. The walls were empty and gray, there was a mirror that Yancy knew that he couldn’t see through it but people on the other side could and a door was behind him. One hand was free and the other was cuffed down to the table. He was finally cleaned up after being examined and he wore an orange jumpsuit. Yancy didn’t react when the door opened and a man went around the table and sat in front of him. The man placed a plastic bag on the table.

“Hello, Yancy.” The man greeted with a small smile. “I’m Mr. Murderslaughter.” Yancy looked up and saw a kind-looking man. “Yes, I know it’s ironic for a warden to have that name.” Mr. Murderslaughter chuckled, waiting to see if Yancy would say anything but he got nothing. “I’m here to help you as a favor and because you need it.” Mr. Murderslaughter reached into the bag and pulled out a container, popping it open to show that there were cookies inside of it. “You’re a child. Thirteen, right?” He asked as he handed Yancy a cookie.

“Yeah,” Yancy answered in a whisper, giving Mr. Murderslaughter some hope. Yancy bit into the treat and couldn't help from smiling a little, it was delicious and he could have sworn he's tasted them before.

“They’re not going to let you walk away from this, even at your age." Yancy's smile dropped as Mr. Murderslaughter spoke again. "People can’t look past someone killing their parents, no matter the reason because of the thought that you should love and respect your parents.” 

“Bullshit,” Yancy grumbled. 

“You’re right. It is bullshit. But that’s how the world is.” Mr. Murderslaughter watched Yancy slouch over

“I just want to go to bed.” Yancy shook his head.

“I understand, Yancy," Mr. Murderslaughter leaned forward. "Tell me what happened. What did you do?” 

“I killed ‘em,” Yancy stated and Mr. Murderslaughter straightened back up. “My parents are...were terrible people. I didn't like 'em, no one did.” Yancy was now looking at Mr. Muderslaughter as he spoke. “I had to get my own food, I had to make sure the house stayed somewhat together, that we wouldn’t get kicked out, that the bank wouldn’t come for us. I cooked and cleaned and did everything for myself and them.” Yancy started to shake slightly. “All I have ever asked from them was to be my parents, was to at least pretend that they cared for me, that they loved me, but that was too much for them.” Yancy let out a laugh. “I just wanted to make some mac and cheese, just some food since I wasn’t able to eat at school 'cause I had no lunch money. They usually forget I exist unless they want something from me and they wanted my food...so, they took it. They took it from me, didn’t like what they took and attacked me.” 

“They attacked you?”

“My dad started and I stabbed him with my screwdriver." Yancy gestured with his free hand. "And then my ma came in and I strangled her with my bare hands." Yancy posed his hands as if he was doing it all over again, eyes going wide. "I...I just wanted it to stop. I just...I just wanted…” Yancy had started to cry at this point, tears falling freely. “I just want to know that I’ll be fed, that I’ll have a bed and clothes and a roof over my head.” 

“I’ll make sure you get that.” Mr. Murderslaughter reached over and placed his hands on top of Yancy's making him lower them. "I promise."


	4. PenPal

_ “You can’t send a child to jail!”   
_ _ “No child would do this! He’s lost his right!”  
_ _ “He was abused!”  
_ _ "Lock him up! Lock him up!”  _

Yancy woke up with a scream clawing its way through his throat, tears flowing down his cheeks. There were some grumbles of protest from the other prisoners but they soon quieted down.

“Yo, Yanc, you good?” A soft voice asked from the cell next to Yancy’s. “Did you have another bad dream?” 

“Yeah,” Yancy answered after swallowing. “It’s all good, though.” 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

“Nah, go back to sleep.” 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah.” Yancy heard the person, a girl his age named Tiny, hum with some worry before her bed squeaked, telling Yancy she had laid back down. Yancy sighed and rolled out of bed, he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. 

He’s been ay Happy Trails Penitentiary for several months. Warden Murderslaughter worked a deal to allow Yancy to stay here during his trails and when his final one happened last week, he was sentenced to life here. They sent a child to a life in prison. Yancy wasn’t shocked, he knew it was going to happen and Murderslaughter helped him prepare for the verdict. Murderslaughter was there a lot more than what Yancy would expect from a warden but Yancy liked it. The closest thing to a father he’s had his entire life and he seemed to understand Yancy.

Yancy also liked being in jail more than back at his house. He ate three times a day, the showers always had hot water, there was a large library he could read as much as he wanted and there was even a tv. There was a good group of prison mates that were just like him, young and arrested for crimes with complicated stories. There were mostly adults, but they all were protective of the ‘youngins’, the ones Yancy’s age. This place was different than Yancy expected jail to be, something was off about it but he wasn’t going to complain. 

Yancy spent the hour or so before morning call went off reading by flashlight. He mostly read comic books, taking his time to look at every detail in the pictures. Someone took hours and hours for each page and Yancy didn’t want to miss any of it. He also used them as reference for when he would try to draw. No one’s ever seen his art and he was too scared to ever do so. 

When the bell went off, telling the inmates to wake up and get dressed, Yancy slipped on his shoes and waited for one of the guards to open his cell’s gate. After stepping out of his cell he gathered with a group of fellow youngins that had all become friends over his short time there. 

“Do you want to play basketball during rec time?” A boy that everyone called Sparkles McGee, or just Sparkles, asked Yancy as the group of four went to the cafeteria. 

“Sure. Me and yous can go against Tiny and Bam-Bam.” Yancy said. 

“That doesn’t sound fair.” Bam-Bam protested.

“Yancy, you and your friends come over here.” A large man, Jimmy the Pickle, said with a wave of his hand. Yancy’s seen him around but has never heard his voice till now. Yancy looked at his friends and they just shrugged at him. He swallowed thickly before going over, hoping Jimmy was a nice adult as well. 

“Yeah?” Yancy asked, yelping a little when he was suddenly pulled into the front of the line. 

“This kid’s thigh is smaller than my wrist, give him some extra,” Jimmy said to one of the cooks. 

“Here you go.” The woman working handed Yancy an overflowing tray of food. 

“You don’t eat much and I don’t like it,” Jimmy stated as he got his own food. “You four come and sit with me and Shithole Hank.” 

“Okay.” Yancy wasn’t sure what else to say as he waited for his gang to get their breakfast. 

“That’s a lot of food,” Tiny said when she saw Yancy’s tray. “Are you going to be able to eat all that?”

“I don’t think I have a choice.” Yancy weakly chuckled and lead the others over to where Jimmy and Hank were. 

“Eat that all up cause I’m gonna help you bulk up even more,” Jimmy said to Yancy after they sat down. “I can tell you’re strong and I’ll make sure you stay that way and get stronger.” 

“Thanks. But why?” Yancy asked.

“Heard about the bags of fucks that were your parents and I never want you to feel weak ever again,” Jimmy stated. 

“What about me?” Bam-Bam asked.

“You’re a smart kid, work with that,” Jimmy said with a chuckle and a slap against the thin kid’s back. “I’m not tryin’ to be harsh, you gotta work with what you got. Yancy here’s already got good muscles for his age, you’re smart, Tiny’s a slick and quick gal and Sparkles knows how to make a distraction. Work with what ya got.” 

“Mail!” A man shouted out as he came into the room. “Jimmy, Hank, Tiny.” The man listed off the names as he handed them their letters. “Yancy.” 

“Yancy?” Yancy repeated his own name as he was handed an envelope. “I have mail?” 

“Give it a read.” Jimmy chuckled. Yancy hesitated for a second before opening the envelope, finding a letter inside:

_ Hi Yancy,  
_ _ I saw your trail on tv and wanted to let you know I’m on your side.  
_ _ You seem like a cool guy.  
_ _ I can only imagine how lonely it can get in jail when you’re only thirteen so I thought I could be your penpal of sorts.   
_ _ I hope you’re willing to write back  
_ __ -Illinois

“Illinois? I was written to by a state?” Yancy said out loud when he was done reading.

“It’s probably a pseudonym,” Bam-Bam said. “A fake name so people don’t know who they are.” 

“Why would they use a fake name?” Tiny asked. 

“They’re taking a risk sending a letter to a convicted felon, they’re probably thinking they’re being safe,” Bam-Bam said. 

“Are you going to write back?” Sparkles asked. 

“Yeah, I think I am,” Yancy said with a smile. 

_ x~x~x _

Howard sat at his desk, staring at the blank sheet of paper. He’s been wanting to write Yancy ever since everything started but he never knew what to say. What do you say? 

Maybe he should try being someone else? Be the person he’s always wanted to be? It’s easy to hide behind writing when no one knew who you were. He could be that smooth and suave guy, he could be brave enough to say things he could never do in person. 

“Dear...no.” Howard quickly erased the word. ‘Dear’ sounded a little too...formal. “Hi, Yancy.” Better. Howard wrote a quick letter, making sure nothing in there gave away who he was. “I hope you’re willing to write back, signed…” Howard paused. Signed who? Who was he? He didn’t want to be Howard anymore. Howard started to chew on his pencil and he lifted his hat, looking at it as he thought. His eyes went wide when he looked inside of the hat and he knew who he now was. 

_ Illinois.  _


	5. Letters

_ Hey Illinois,  
_ _ I think it’d be cool if we were penpals, a lot of the other guys here have them.   
_ _ I’m not sure how to start this off but Jimmy the Pickle said that asking questions if a good way to start, so…  
_ _ How old are you? Got any pets? Why Illinois?  
_ _ -Yancy _

_ Hi Yancy,  
_ _ I’m glad to hear back from you!  
_ _ I’m the same age as you actually, a couple of weeks younger and I don’t have any pets.  
_ _ It’s from something a friend of mine gave me. It also just sounds cool, right? I want to travel the world and gather unknown treasures and a cool name would be better than a normal one, right?  
_ _ Is his name actually ‘Jimmy the Pickle’ or is there some really weird story about that?   
_ _ -Illinois _

_ Yo Illinois,  
_ _ Jimmy just really likes pickles and that became his nickname. Shithole Hank has his nickname because he makes great toilet wine, I haven’t had any and I don’t think I will any time soon.  
_ _ I have a friend back in my hometown that wanted to be an adventurer too! If you ever run into him, his name’s Howard. He’s a smart guy and you’ll get along with him easily.  
_ _ -Yancy _

_ Yo Yancy,  
_ _ I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for your friend if he’s anything like you I bet he’s awesome.   
_ _ And please don’t have toilet wine  
_ _ -Illinois _

_ x~x~x _

“One more, one more!” Jimmy shouted above Yancy as he strained to lift the weighted bar up. “Come on, Yancy!” Yancy let out a shout himself when he managed to get the bar on the latch. His arms flopped down and he was gasping for air.

“He’s lifting more than a weigh,” Bam-Bam said before tossing a baseball to Sparkles. 

“He works out every day with Jimmy, why are you shocked?” Tiny said before Sparkles tossed her the ball next. 

“Lifting almost double in a year, that’s impressive.” Jimmy laughed as he helped Yancy to his feet. “Don’t expect it to be this fast from here on out, I’m not gonna break ya.” 

“I can’t feet my arms,” Yancy whined. 

“Yanc, wanna play?” Sparkles asked. 

“Yeah!” Yancy quickly got over his pain and rushed over to his gang. 

“Remember when we could bounce back like that?” Hank asked with a laugh. 

“I still can, old man.” Jimmy scoffed.

_ x~x~x _

_ Illy!  
_ _ It’s our five-year anniversary!   
_ _ We’re practically married according to prison standards  
_ _ -Yancy _

_ Yanc!  
_ _ I didn’t think you’d be so forward!?  
_ _ Should I call my mom?  
_ _ -Illinois _

_ Dearest Illinois,  
_ _ Fuck yeah!   
_ _ -Yancy _

_ x~x~x _

“You two have a record for penpals,” Jimmy commented. 

“We do?” Yancy asked, folding up his newest letter for Illinois. 

“‘Round here most people give up before even a year, you two have five under your belts and you’re still going strong.” Jimmy pushed his tray towards Bam-Bam, letting him have his pudding. 

“I’ve gone through four while you still have one.” Sparkles said. 

“You two have something special.” Hank let out a hum. 

“He’s just cool.” Yancy shrugged. 

“You’re eighteen, you could invite him over for a visit.” Hank winked and Yancy’s face went bright red. 

“Sh-shut up!” 

“Gross, I don’t want to think of Yanc like that.” Tiny scrunched up her face. 

“Looks like someone really likes their penpal.” Jimmy joined in on the teasing. 

“Yous wanna fight!? I’ll throw down!” Yancy stood up and Jimmy placed a hand on his shoulder and sat him right back down. 

“Can’t fight your emotions, kid.” 

_ x~x~x _

_ Hey Yancy!  
_ _ I’m heading off on my first solo journey! I’ll be gone for about a month, wish me luck!  
_ _ -Illinois _

_ Hey Illinois,  
_ _ Be safe, alright?  
_ _ -Yancy _

_ x~x~x _

“He’s been training as long as you have, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Tiny said to Yancy as the young man leaned against her. 

“I’m not worried,” Yancy grumbled. “I’m just...cold.”

“Sure ya are, bud.” Tiny patted Yancy’s back. 

“He said a month and it’s been three.” Yancy rubbed his face. “What if he got hurt? What if he got bored of me ‘cause adventurin’ is much better? What if-” 

“Yancy!” Bam-Bam called out as he ran into Yancy’s cell. 

“Mail!” Sparkles shouted as well, tossing the letter to Yancy. 

“What does it say?” Tiny asked as the other two crowded close and Yancy opened the envelope. 

“I gotta read it first.” Yancy chuckled. “Hi, Yancy.” Yancy read out loud, knowing it’d be easier to explain if they just heard it. “Everything went great, got caught up in something that took a lot longer than I could ever imagine. Ever heard of Panda Heaven? Neither have I till I saw it. I’m heading out on another trip in a few weeks. Also, happy ten-year anniversary!” 

“Panda Heaven?” Bam-Bam titled his head. “What could that mean?” 

“Who cares? Illinois is fine.” Tiny chuckled, catching that Yancy was smiling brightly at the letter, reading it to himself several more times. 

_ x~x~x _

_ Hi Yancy…  
_ _ My partner, ya know Marissa, she didn’t make it.  
_ _ This is the third one I’ve lost and I’m starting to think it’s my fault.   
_ _ Maybe I should stick to being alone on these things.  
_ _ -Illinois _

_ Illy,  
_ _ It’s okay, bud. It happens. They signed up for a dangerous job and it’s not your fault that you’re the best out there.   
_ _ You got this!  
_ _ -Yancy _

_ x~x~x _

“Yous don’t think it’s too overdone, do ya?” Yancy asked, showing Tiny the picture he’s drawn. “I just want to make something nice for him.”

“You drew this?” Tiny stared at the drawing in awe. “When did you learn to do that?” 

“I’ve been workin’ on it for a while. Been using those comic books to help.” Yancy explained. 

“That’s so cool!” Bam-Bam reached over the table and pointed at the drawing. “How long did it take you to shade that?” 

“A very long time, now be careful or you’ll smudge it.” Yancy yanked the picture away. 

“Wouldn’t want to smudge your face.” Bam-Bam chuckled. 

“Do you think it’s weird that they’ve never seen each other after all these years?” Yancy went stiff when he heard some other prison mates talking at the table behind him. 

“What if Illinois is lying about who he is?” The other man at the table said.

“Like, he’s actually just some boring dude who sits at an office desk all day?” 

“That’s more believable than him being ‘an adventurer’.”

“Could you two shut your traps?” Jimmy said loudly and harshly, seeing Yancy slouch over. “It’s none of y’all’s fucking business.” 

“Alright everyone, let’s get together for the talent show,” Murderslaughter called from the cafeteria entrance. 

“You ready to sing, Yanc?” Tiny asked, popping up.

“Always!” Yancy perked up, the nagging thought taking a seat for now. 

_ x~x~x _

_ Illinois!  
_ _ Everyone loves my song! Even the warden!  
_ _ I wish you were here to see it!  
_ _ -Yancy _

__ Dancy Yancy,  
_ What would you say if I told you there’s a chance?  
_ __ -Illinois


	6. Reunited

“Come in,” Murderslaughter called out when he heard a knock on his door. 

“Hey there, Uncle slaw.” 

“Why, looks who’s here.” Mudersaughter greeted with a chuckle. “How are you doing, ‘Illinois’.” He said that name with a teasing tone. 

“I came to see a good friend of mine.” Illinois went over to Murderslaughter’s desk, sitting on the edge of it. “How has he been?” 

“I think you know that answer better than I do.” Murderslaughter slapped at Illinois’ hip to make him get off of his desk. 

“You have a point there.” Illinois tucked his thumb into his belt. “Do I need to sign some paperwork or something to see him?” 

“I’ll talk to the guards and get a simple visitation room set up for you two. We just got two new inmates in so everyone’s distracted by that.” 

“Youngins?” 

“Two adults that got sent here temporarily due to us being the closest prison. They got caught trying to steal a plan after stealing from a museum.” He gave Illinois a look. 

“I don’t steal from museums.” Illinois protested. 

“I didn’t say anything.” Murderslaughter hummed. “But it’s their first day here so it’ll just mostly be…” Murderslaghter held out his word when there was a loud crash. “Damn it. Stay here.” Murderslaughter got up and left the room. Illinois waited for about three taps of his foot before he stepped out as well. Illinois heard his uncle’s voice at one end of the hall and he decided to go down the other. 

“Why would anyone want to break out?” Illinois stopped at the entrance to the cafeteria, heart leaping when he saw the group of prisoners singing and dancing, the one in the lead sticking out the most to him. 

“Yancy.” Illinois gasped softly.

 _“I don’t wanna be free. Leave me in luxury~_ ” Yancy had a large smile on his face as he danced with the others. Illinois couldn’t stop himself from smiling and watched for a bit before something tapped his shoulder. 

“You’re the Warden’s nephew, right?” A large man with long hair and a stern face asked. 

“Yeah.” Illinois’ hand went to where his whip would have been if he wasn’t forced to leave it outside. 

“Great!” The man’s face became a bright smile. “You’re here to see Yancy, correct?”

“Yeah.” Illinois relaxed his shoulders. 

“Now is this a conjugal visit or-”

“It’s a little soon for that, considering the last time we saw each other was when we were thirteen.” Illinois chuckled. “He probably doesn’t even recognize me.” 

“So, should I keep a room open for-” The man was cut off by shouts and cheers. “Shit, they’re fighting. Warden!” The man took off and Illinois turned to see that Yancy was brawling with the person they had been performing to. Illinois was ready to jump in but Murderslaughter went rushing past him, he froze thinking that if he didn’t move, he wouldn’t get caught disobeying. 

“What is going on here!?” Murderslaughter demanded. 

“Your visit might have to wait. Yancy’s going in time-out.” The man from before said to Illinois, gesturing to Yancy as he was walked away from the crowd.

“Get the runaway paperwork ready,” Murderslaughter said when he walked up to the two men. “And freezing doesn’t make me not see you, I’m not a dinosaur.” He added as Illinois went still. 

“Can’t blame me for trying.” Illinois weakly chuckled. “And what’s the runaway paperwork?”

“It’s a new program we made because of Yancy.” Murderslaughter gestured for Illinois to follow him as he went back towards his office. “He’s a smart man and he knows almost everything about everyone here. Not because he sneaks around but because people trust him.” 

“Am I supposed to be getting something from this?” Illinois asked. 

“We’re about to lose an inmate tonight and if you want a private moment with Yancy without any guards around, come back at ten o’clock and go to the back of the prison.” 

“Is Yancy going to try to escape?” 

“Never.” Murderslaughter stopped at his office door. “You heard his song, didn’t you?”

“But why doe he want to stay?” 

“All he has is a lifetime of being trapped, he never’s known what it’s like to be free and if you think you can get him to escape. I won’t stop you.”

_x~x~x_

“Maybe next time parole comes up...I’ll give it a shot,” Yancy said as he leaned against the bars, the person he was speaking to giving him a small smile of support. 

Illinois was hidden in the shadows of some nearby trees. Murderslaughter was right, Yancy was there and he was helping the new person escape. His curiosity spiked, even more, when Yancy handed the person a box and when they opened it, they seemed to pull out...a key?

The person waved goodbye to Yancy and Illinois could swear that they were heading straight towards him. They were.

“Um...hello?” Illinois greeted, glancing over at Yancy and seeing that he was looking down at the grass. The person snapped their fingers in front of Illinois’ face to get him to look back at them. They gave a smile and handed Illinois the key and a slip of paper. “What is this?” Illinois looked at the paper. “Skeleton key? Why are you-” Illinois stopped when the person was suddenly gone. Illinois has seen some strange things in his journeys and stuff like that will always still throw him off. Illinois blinked a few times and snapped out of it when he saw that Yancy was walking away. “Yancy!” 

“Huh?” Yancy squinted through the darkness, going back to the bars. “Who’s there?” Illinois removed his hat, took a deep breath and stepped out. “Who is you?” 

“Happy fifteen-year anniversary, Yanc,” Illinois said.

“Fifteen-year…” Yancy gasped and his eyes went wide. “Illinois? Is that yous?” 

“The one and only.” Illinois bowed a little. 

“It’s actually yous.” Yancy shook his head in disbelief. “I thought I would never actually see you. I thought you were always gonna be something in my head.” 

“I’m here.” Illinois gave Yancy a bright smile. “I’ve missed you.”

“Missed me?” Yancy’s face was flushed. “This is the first time we’ve seen each other.” 

“It’s been a while.” Illinois took out his hat and placed it on his head, hoping that it would be enough.

“Howdy?” Yancy’s voice dropped to a whisper. 

“Haven’t been called that since I changed my name.” Illinois chuckled. “The years have changed us, huh?” 

“Yeah, they have.” Yancy rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Do you remember when I said I wanted to ask out a cool person? Back before all of this happened?” Illinois asked.

“Kinda,” Yancy said honestly. “Did you end up doin’ that?” 

“Not yet.” Illinois reached through the bars and placed his hand on Yancy’s cheek. “He got into some trouble before I could.” 

“I-I-I…” Yancy stuttered out, bright red and brain malfunctioning. 

“Run away with me.”

“I can’t.” Yancy moved away from Illinois’ hand. 

“You already said you’d try for parole, Why not skip that?” Illinois asked.

“I said that so they’d feel better. It was for them.” 

“You don’t belong here.” Illinois was now holding the bars.

“How do I not belong here?” Yancy asked. “You saw the news, yous know what I did.” 

“I also know why you did it and you deserve better.” 

“I have it better here.” 

“Yanc-”

“I need to get back. I’d love to see you at visitation, every third Sunday.” Yancy gave a sorrowful wave and started to walk away. 

“Yancy, please. Yancy!” Illinois called out, slumping when Yancy just kept going. “Yanc…”


	7. Heart Ache

“Ow!” Yancy shouted when Jimmy slapped him upside the head. “What was that for?” 

“Why are you still here?” Jimmy asked. 

“I can’t go,” Yancy mumbled as he rubbed his head, not expecting this reaction when he told his gang about what happened the previous night. He thought he was going to get support, not violence. 

“I thought you liked Illinois,” Bam-Bam said. “Why wouldn’t you go with him?” 

“It was the first time they’ve ever met in person,” Tiny said in defense of Yancy.

“Not...really.” Yancy slumped down. “He used to be Howard.” 

“He’s-” Tiny made a face and slapped Yancy on the head.

“Why!?” Yancy yelped and covered his head with his arms. “Yous guys are bein’ mean.” 

“You’re being an idiot.” Tiny scoffed. “Not only is he the man you’ve been writing letters to for fifteen years, but he’s also your old best friend. Why didn’t you go with him?” 

“I can’t,” Yancy said.

“That’s not a real answer.”

“I just…”

“Yancy.”

“I’m scared, alright!?” Yancy finally snapped, hands going to his face as he sat up. 

“Illinois seems like a good-”

“I’m not scared of him, at least, not in this sense.” Yancy wasn’t really sure what he meant by that. He wasn’t afraid of Illinois, far from it, but there was this strange feeling of fear Yancy had when he was close to him, when his hand was on his face, a strange twisting, not painful burning in his stomach that was just weird. He’s felt the warmth in his chest when he read the letters but this was...different. 

“You’re scared to be out there, aren’t ya?” Hank asked. “You’ve been in here for so long, more than half your life and anything different than this is scary.” 

“Shithole Hank’s ‘old man wisdom’,” Jimmy said with a chuckle. 

“I’ll shank you.” Hank threatened, a smile twitching at the edge of his lips showing that he was joking.

“Not everything is bad out there.” Sparkles said. “There’s some good to get.”

“McGee, your gal’s here.” One of the guards called out. 

“Like that.” Sparkles winked and jumped up to his feet, skipping away. 

“Try to take longer than fifteen minutes! She deserves better!” Jimmy called after him. 

“I probably scared him off,” Yancy said, slumping over once more. “I’m never going to see him again.” 

“Yancy, visitor.” The guard from before came back. 

“Visitor?” Yancy went stiff. “Do you think-”

“Go, go, go.” Tiny slapped at Yancy’s arm until he got up and left the room.

“Your friend is in booth three.” The guard said as Yancy was lead into the room he hadn’t been in since Mrs. Policzeck stopped seeing him almost ten years ago. He didn’t understand for a while why she stopped coming but Jimmy had explained it to him and that was a rough month for Yancy. Yancy sat down in the chair, expecting to see Illinois on the other side of the glass and actually gasped when he saw the newbie inmate. 

“Yous came back!” Yancy laughed after picking up the phone that allowed them to hear each other. The person just made a face at Yancy, raising their brows and tapping a finger against the table. “And yous look disappointed.” The person took out a piece of paper and pressed it against the glass so Yancy could read it

_ Why are you here? _

“I told yous I was staying,” Yancy said, feeling his cheeks warm up when the person made a gesture as if they were tipping a hat. “I would be lying if I said I was shocked you knew about that. Yous a lot smarter than I.” The person knocked on the glass and wagged a finger at Yancy, scolding him for insulting himself. “I’m sorry, I just...I don’t know.” Yancy sighed. The person sighed as well and placed their hand on the glass, a look of sorrow in their eyes. “What wrong?” The person just lowered their head before using their hand to count down from five. “What-”

“Warden!” One of the guards cried out. “Someone call the medic!” 

“What’s going on?” Yancy grunted when he saw that the newbie was no longer there.

“Inmates! To your cells, I repeat, to your cells!” A handful of guards ushered the prisoners out of the room. 

“What’s wrong with the warden? Hey! What’s wrong with the warden!?” Yancy demanded as he was guided away. 

“It’s nothing.” The guard said. “Just wait in your cell.” 

“Nothing my ass, where is…” Yancy went still when he found Murderslaughter on the ground, his hands clutching at his chest as he gasped out in pain. “No!” Yancy tried to take off.

“Yancy, cut it out.” The guard grunted after he caught Yancy. Two other guards saw him struggle and helped pulled Yancy away and to his cell. 

“Warden! Warden!” Yancy cried out. He was thrown into his cell and they got it shut and locked before he could get out. “Warden! Warden! Warden!” Yancy held out his last cry before slumping down to his knees. 

“Bam-Bam thinks it’s a heart attack.” Tiny’s voice was soft as if she was sitting at the very end of her cell. “He’s been really stressed lately since the government’s been on his ass about how things run here.” Yancy stayed silent, staring down at the ground. “He’ll be fine. He’s a lot stronger than we think.” There was a pause. “It’ll be okay, Yanc.” 

Hours went by and soon everyone called it a night as the lights were shut off. Yancy was still on the floor, leaning against the bars and not knowing what to do. He wanted to help, he wanted everything to be okay, he was tired. Yancy had closed his eyes for only a few minutes when he heard a click. He felt his body slide over but it was caught before hitting the ground.

“Yanc?” A soft voice got Yancy to open his eyes. 

“Illy?” Yancy blinked a few times, slowly forcing his eyes to open all the way. “Ill-” Illinois slapped a hand over Yancy’s mouth to prevent him from shouting. 

“Hey.” Illinois greeted with a grin. Yancy’s face went full red when he realized he was being held and he squirmed his way so he was kneeling in front of a crouching Illinois. 

“What are yous doin’ here? How did yous get in here?” Yancy asked in a whisper. 

“I got a key.” Illinois shrugged. “Do you want to see the warden?” 

“Please.” Yancy didn’t care at that moment how Illinois was doing anything, he just wanted to see for himself that the warden was fine. 


	8. Come With Me

“You guys have a full-fledge hospital in here,” Ilinois said softly as he and Yancy crept through the jail’s halls. 

“I knew we have a medical staff, but a hospital?” Yancy peeked into one of the rooms and it looked exactly like a hospital room, he’s only been to one once when he and Illinois were ten. Illinois had fallen out of a tree and broke his arm. Yancy had visited him every chance he got. Yancy looked over at Illinois, having a hard time seeing that grown man as the young boy they had been. He wasn’t Howard anymore, but there was still that bright curiosity in his eyes and how they would harden in concentration. 

“There’s a guard down there,” Illinois said, stopping at the end of the hall. Yancy snapped out of his thoughts and joined Illinois. “Stay here and I’ll take care of it.” Illinois started to move but stopped and turned back towards Yancy. “Don’t watch.” He added before taking off, not giving Yancy time to question. Yancy internally argued with himself about if he should or should not look and by the time he did look, Illinois was back. The guard knew who Illinois was and all Illinois had to do was explain that he wanted to see his uncle and was given permission to go in. “We’re all good.” 

“Oh-Okay.” Yancy blurted out. “What did you do with the guard?”

“Don’t worry about it, no harm was done.” Illinois waved off the question and lead Yancy to a different room. “Last chance to turn back, I can just tell you how he looks,” Illinois said, placing his hand on the doorknob. 

“I have to see,” Yancy said. 

“Alright.” Illinois nodded his head and opened the door, Yancy following close behind. 

“Warden!” Yancy gasped out and rushed over to Murderslaughter, who was sleeping on the bed. Yancy leaned against the mattress and could feel a pain in his chest as he looked down at Murderslaughter. His face was pale and Yancy could hear his heart rate through the loud beeping from the machine next to them. It was very slow and Yancy did not like that at all. 

“Careful,” Illinois warned. “He needs to stay calm and get some rest.” 

“Yancy?” Murderslaughter’s voice was soft and groggy. 

“So much for that.” Illinois sighed, going to the other side of the bed. 

“How did you…” Muderslaughter stopped when he saw that Illinois was in the room as well. “Oh, I see.” Murderslaughter let out a weak laugh. “This heart of mine has the best timing, doesn’t it?” Murderslaughter placed a few caring taps on top of Yancy’s hand. “I’ll miss you, Yancy.” 

“Miss me? I’m not going anywhere.” Yancy said. 

“You’re not?” Muderslaughter cleared his throat. “I thought you would go with him.” 

“Why? Don’t yous want me here?” Yancy had fear in his voice. “Am I not wanted?”

“I want you to be happy,” Murderslaughter stated. “I’ve made sure you’ve been well taken care of here for a long time...I’ve been risking my own job...and the jobs of others to ensure that you and the other kids have had somewhat of a decent life here...I can only do so much since this is a jail and the government would shut us down if we didn’t follow certain protocols.” Muderslaughter had to take a pause and breathe a few times. “It’s time for you to move on. You don’t belong here.” 

“I don’t belong here?” Yancy had to clear his own throat when his voice got caught. 

“I don’t mean like that, Yancy...You’re cared for and loved here but you deserve to be free... You’re a smart kid and the world needs to see you...Even if that means you’re just out there with Illinois, doing anything that makes you happy.” 

“No, no I don’t...I....” Yancy shook his head. 

“Come with me.” Illinois suddenly said. “Come with me on like a test run.”

“A test run?” 

“I’ve been working on my next exploration. There’s a cave system I want to explore and it’ll take a good few months to get through all of it.” Illinois said. 

“You want me to join you on a trip?” Yancy asked. 

“Yes.” Illinois waved his hands around as he spoke. “Like I said, a test run. See how you feel outside of here and when we’re done and back if you really want to stay in here, I won’t stop you. I’ll never ask you to leave again.” 

“Illinois...I don’t…” Yancy stopped, words not forming anymore.

“Go. It’s best for you.” Murderslaughter was struggling to keep his eyes open. “That’s all I want, my boy.” 

“I…” Yancy could only stare down at Murderslaughter. He didn’t want to abandon him, he didn’t want to leave him. He didn’t want to leave him in general, let alone when he’s hurt like this. What if he didn’t get better? What if he never gets to give him a proper goodbye? Just running off like that isn’t the best last thing to see. Murderslaughter cared for Yancy, has always shown that he has. It was in a strange and unique way but Yancy was used to that and it was a lot better than what he had as a child. 

“If you don’t want to do it for you…” Murderslaughter swallowed thickly. “Do it for me. Now is the best time to go...everyone’s too worried about me and distracted.” Yancy could feel tears starting to form. “The others will understand...the others want it for you too. If you’re worried about me...I’ll be fine. I’m a strong man...A simple heart-attack isn’t going to take me down...I’ll be back to my usual self in a few days. Doctors even said so.” 

“We’ll need to go soon,” Ilinois said. “The guard will be back any moment now.” 

“It’s going to be okay...I promise.” Muderslaughter gave Yancy a smile. “It’s okay to go.” 

“Come with me, Yanc.” Illinois held a hand out towards Yancy. “Come with me.” 


	9. First Day Free

Yancy stood at the outside gate to the jail, sorrow filling his chest and closing his throat. He had to fight every urge in his body to rush back in. But he made a promise. He told Murderslaughter that he would give it a chance. If he wanted to come back after this journey he was welcomed and would never be questioned again. He just wished he could have given a proper goodbye to his friends before he left. Hopefully, Murderslaughter would explain to them what happened. 

“Are you good to go?” Illinois asked, not wanting to rush Yancy but wanting to get away as soon as possible as well. The further they were, the less likely they would be caught by passersby. 

“I guess.” Yancy sniffed once and turned away, knowing he had to go like ripping off a bandage. 

“We’ll go to my place first to get you into a change of clothes,” Illinois said as he showed Yancy where he had parked. 

“Why can’t I wear this?” Yancy asked, gesturing towards his attire. 

“It sticks out a little.” Illinois took out the car keys and unlocked the large car, a truck of sorts. 

“And what yous wear don’t?” Yancy scoffed. 

“It’s different.” Illinois opened the door to the passenger side and gestured for Yancy to get in. Yancy just pouted and got in, looking around since it’s been a while since he was in a car. “It’s only a ten-minute drive, so it won’t take long,” Illinois said, turning the car on. Yancy turned around in his seat and stared at the prison, watching it get smaller and smaller and he kept looking even after it was long gone. 

“Bye,” Yancy said softly. 

“If you don’t want to do this, we don’t have to,” Illinois said. “I don’t want to push you.” 

“I said I was gonna do this, I’m gonna do this.” Yancy settled down to sit properly in the seat. “And adventuring with yous sounds like a fun little trip.” He added with a shrug, trying his best to will his face to not turn red. 

“I’ll try my best to make it as fun as possible.” Illinois chuckled. 

“So...we’re off to your place?” Yancy awkwardly slapped at his legs. 

“One of them.” Illinois turned the car wheel.

“One?” 

“I travel a lot, I need a few different places to stay depending on where I am.” 

“Yous loaded.”

“I hunt ancient artifacts and treasure for a living.” Illinois was very nonchalant about it and he stopped the car in front of a house. 

“Wonder what it’s like to have that much money,” Yancy said to himself as Illinois got out of the car and went around. 

“Coming out?” Illinois asked after opening Yancy’s door. 

“Yous don’t have to keep openin’ my door,” Yancy grumbled as he undid his seatbelt, getting out and still puffing his cheeks out at Illinois when he closed the door. 

“I’m being polite to my guest.” Illinois bowed a little, his smirk making Yancy feel a nice warmth in his chest that he literally walked away from and went to the front door. “Spare room is down the main hall, third room on the left and a bathroom is next to that,” Illinois said as he unlocked the door and opened it, letting Yancy go in first. 

“Woah.” Yancy looked around in awe. The room was large and there was a balcony above him that let him see part of the second floor. Paintings covered most of the walls and there were statues across them as well, a large one in the center of a man throwing a discus.

“It’s a replica,” Illinois said. “A payment for retrieving the real one.” 

“It’s awesome.” Yancy went up to the statue and ran his hand along the arm, feeling that they even sculpted the veins in the arms. 

“I can think of an even better art piece.” Illinois reached into his back pocket and unfolded a piece of paper. “He’s really good at sketches.” He turned the paper around and Yancy recognized it as the drawing of Murderslaughter he had made. 

“I forgot about that.” Yancy rubbed the back of his neck. 

“It really accurate. Did he model for you?” Illinois asked.

“Yeah, he let me sit in his office for a while and work on it.” Yancy let out a chuckle. “He said it was an easy way to keep me out of trouble.” 

“You? A trouble maker? I would have never guessed.” Illinois teased. “I’ve been meaning to get this framed but I like carrying it around. You have a nice signature as well.” 

“A signature’s a signature.” Yancy was looking down and he saw Illinois’ boots, telling him that the other man was close. 

“Nothing’s as simple as it seems.” Illinois placed his hand on Yancy’s chin and tilted his head up. “We’re all more than our covers.” 

Yancy found himself stuck as he stared at Illinois, feeling the short distance between them and unable to tell if he wanted more or less of it. Yancy knew Illinois from over a decade of sending letters, of talking of knowing basically everything about each other but it was a lot different in person. It was a little hard to not see Howard when looking Illinois in the eyes, he grew up with Howard, he knew Howard as well and it was weird to accept that he was gone but Yancy found that thought fading away when his eyes went down to Illinois’ lips. Illinois was much different than Howard, his personality and body and everything was not Howard. Yancy knew Howard was gone and Illinois was the one with him. He’s had dreams of being with Illinois, of him being in the prison with him, of holding his hand, of…

“I should get changed.” Yancy stepped away. “Third room on the left, right?”

“Right.” Illinois watched as Yancy took off. Illinois found himself smiling as he let himself get a little lost in thought. Yancy was different than when they were kids, he was a lot softer and...cute. He didn’t have that old crush on childhood Yancy anymore, too much has happened to both of them for that same person. But Illinois knew that he had been falling for his penpal. 

And that terrified him.


	10. The Cave Of Wonders

“Careful, it’s a little heavy-” Illinois made a little ‘oop’ sound when he watched Yancy easily pick up one of the large water jugs. 

“It’s supposed to be heavy?” Yancy said with a grin.

“For most people-” Illinois picked up the second one with ease as well. “-it is.” 

“Guess we’re not most people.” Yancy chuckled and went over to the truck they’d been loading for a while. 

“Not at all.” Illinois agreed, jumping up into the trunk bed after placing his jug down on the edge of it.

“I see yous got two of everythin’,” Yancy commented, pushing his jug closer to Illinois so he had to carry it a little less to get it packed in. “What would you have done if I stayed back?” 

“I knew you wouldn’t.” Illinois gave Yancy a smile and Yancy quickly turned away and went back to the pile of supplies. 

Yancy scooped up two bags of clothing, one with his new stuff and one with Illinois’. Yancy kept his white shirt, despite Illinois’ protest and wore black sweatpants with them. The clothing Illinois bought him, this time against Yancy’s protest, were in the same style and theme. Illinois didn’t want to force Yancy to go too far from the clothing he’s known for most of his life. He even wore a similar style before...everything.

“Are yous bringing like a portable washer or something?” Yancy asked, tossing the clothes on to the truck. 

“Normally I can find a stream or collection of water somewhere during my trips, if not I have dry wash stuff too.” Illinois tucked the bags under one of the coolers with food in it. 

“Dry wash?” Yancy looked at Illinois with disbelief, there was no way that was true. 

“Like dry-shampoo.” Illinois went to the edge of the truck bed and jumped off. 

“Dry-shampoo?” Yancy titled his head and followed Illinois back. 

“Yeah, dry...oh.” Illinois held out the word, realizing that Yancy wouldn’t know what that stuff was since he’s never had a need for it. “It’s a shampoo that you can just spray in your hair without rinsing it out.” 

“Yous lying to me.” Yancy playfully poked at Illinois’ chest. 

“I would never.” Illinois placed his hand on his chest as well and used the other to poke Yancy’s nose. “How could I lie to you?” 

“Don’t do that.” Yancy covered his nose with both hands while Illinois laughed. Yancy lowered his hands and stuck his tongue out at Illinois before going to the supplies and grabbing two of the last three bags. 

“I tease cause I care.” Illinois chuckled, taking the last bag himself.

“Yous a tease cause yous a shit.” Yancy scoffed. 

“I’m a tease?” 

“Yes, yous a tease and...wait.” Yancy placed the bags on the truck and his face went bright red. “Th-That’s not what I meant.” 

“You’re not wrong though.” Illinois dropped the last bag and got back on to the truck. “I’m a tease.” He added a wink at the end. 

“Yous a shit.” Yancy corrected.

“I can be both.” 

x~x~x

“I wasn’t expecting us to be in a dessert,” Yancy commented as he looked out the truck window, seeing nothing but sand. 

“You’re really going to get a kick out of this if you’re still a musical fanatic,” Illinois said, shifting gears to help get over some bumps. “Although, after seeing your song I’m assuming you are.”

“You saw my song?” Yancy couldn’t stop his smile. “Did you like it?” 

“Cute dancing, amazing backup vocals, and a flawless lead.” Illinois gripped both hands on the wheel, seeing it was about to get very rocky soon. 

“I wouldn’t say flawless.” Yancy chuckled. 

“I would.” Illinois turned is head for just a second to look at Yancy and he immediately regretted it as he and Yancy were both sent flying up and hitting their heads on the truck roof. “Damn bumps!” Illinois shouted while Yancy laughed. Yancy kept laughing as he and Illinois were jerked around, finally stopping when they reached their destination. 

“We should do a loop around.” Yancy was practically bouncing. 

“When my brain stops moving around, maybe.” Illinois could swear he could hear swishing inside of his head but ignored it as he popped out of the truck. Yancy undid his seatbelt, grabbed the bottle of water he had been drinking from and by the time he turned back towards his door, it was open. 

“Are yous ever gonna let me open my own door?” Yancy asked, climbing out of the truck. 

“I feel like it’s now a personal mission that I never do.” Illinois chuckled. 

“That means I have to make sure yous fail.” Yancy lightly bumped Illinois with his hip and looked out in front of him. “So? Do we have to dig?” 

“Not at all.” Illinois reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver, circular pendant. 

“We playing Heads or Tails?” Yancy asked, seeing it as a coin in Illinois’ hand.

“Sure, and I pick heads.” Illinois flicked the coin away from them, before taking Yancy’s arm and making him take a step back. 

“Are yous sure we’re playing…” Yancy’s jaw dropped as the sand in front of them started to rise. The sand slid off of what was coming up and it showed to be a dark blue, the mouth of it opening wide and Yancy could not believe that the cave was in the shape of a tiger’s head. “Yous have to be shitting me,” Yancy said in awe. “There’s no way.”

“Way. When I was looking up this place and saw the rumors of what it was, I couldn’t help myself from thinking of you.” Illinois said. “The pendant, the literal cave, all of it just screamed-”

“ _ Aladdin _ .” Yancy didn’t mean to cut Illinois off, but he was lost in amazement. 

“Hopefully Disney doesn’t try to sue us.” Illinois laughed, looking at Yancy and feeling his face get warm at the sight of Yancy’s own face bright with joy. “So, do you think we’re the diamonds in the rough?”

“Hell yeah.” 


	11. Catching Up

“If we find a lamp, I call dibs on it.” Yancy chuckled as he and Illinois walked into the mouth of the cave. “I’m not even sure what I’d wish for, but having a genie would be so cool.” 

“Wouldn’t you wish for their freedom?” Illinois asked, looking down at his string and seeing that it was rolling along how it should be. 

“Well, duh. But I got two other wishes to play with.” Yancy held up two fingers when he said the number. 

“If I had a wish it’d be to have x-ray vision,” Illinois said. 

“Why’s that?”

“It’d make digging easier.” 

“Huh?” Yancy watched as Illinois held his hands out, framing what he was seeing in front of him. 

“If I have to break through a wall, I can see what’s on the other side. If I gotta dig down-” Illinois moved his ‘frame’ towards the ground. “-I can see if there’s rocks or anything in my way.” Illinois was now facing Yancy. “And I can see through clothes.” He added with a wiggle of his eyebrows. 

“Watch yourself.” Yancy placed his hands on top of Illinois’ and lowered them. “That’s how yous get a black eye.” 

“I’ve had worse,” Illinois said with a grin and a wink. 

“Shut up.” Yancy flicked Illinois’ in the center of his forehead and kept walking, a slight flush on his cheeks leftover form Illinois’ comment. 

“Am I allowed to say that I like your tattoos?” Illinois bounced a few steps and easily caught up to Yancy. 

“You do?”

“They’re interesting. Is there any meaning behind them or are they just cool?” 

“Not sure,” Yancy answered honestly. “When Jimmy took out the tattoo gun I just...knew.” Yancy pointed to the tattoo on his neck. “I’ve been drawing this little guy for years.” Yancy looked at his arm. “This web thing has been in my mind forever and-” Yancy ran a hand over his knuckles. “-these names just make sense.” 

“Did you get them all done at once.” Illinois grimaced himself at the thought of doing that. 

“I ain’t stupid, Illy.” Yancy laughed. “The neck one alone was hell.” 

“I wasn’t saying you were stupid, I just know you’re stubborn and strong.” 

“Yous right about me being strong.” Yancy puffed out his chest but the moment didn’t last long before he and Illinois were both laughing. “What about yous? Got any ink?” 

“Nah, haven’t worked up the courage for it yet.” 

“Worked up the courage?” Yancy let out a scoff. “Yous have plenty of that. Look at what yous do for a living. Who else but a courage filled person would walk into a cave that literally came out of sand because yous flipped a coin on it?” 

“That’s more sheer stupidity than courage.” Illinois chuckled. “Ow.” He rubbed his arm after Yancy punched it.

“Don’t talk about yourself like that. Only I can call yous stupid.” Yancy stated. 

“Then the same applies to you-” Illinois wrapped an arm around Yancy’s shoulders and pinched his nose. “-stupid.” 

“Stop that.” Yancy wiggled himself away from Illinois. “So yous never fully explained what we doing here. All I got was ‘cave’ and ‘explorin’.” 

“Did I really not tell you?” Illinois hummed and rubbed his chin. “I could have sworn.”

“Yous were too busy being a shitty tease.” Yancy grinned when Illinois made a sound of protest. 

“I am no shitty tease, I’m a great tease.” 

“What are we up to?” 

“Alright, alright.” Illinois checked his string again. “Remember when I’ve mentioned an animal heaven? Panada, Cat, Raccoon, whatever?”

“Yeah.” 

“Well, I heard that the idol for Tiger Heaven is in this cave.” Illinois gestured widely with his hands as he spoke.

“I’m shocked it ain’t monkey heaven, Abu would have loved it.” Yancy chuckled at his joke. 

“I’ve heard about that one, haven’t found any leads yet,” Illinois said with a shrug. “But this cave is also a lot different than the others I’ve been in.”

“Is it the sand?” Yancy pointed backward with a thumb. 

“Nah, I’ve seen sand, mud and even hay, it’s how the cave works that’s different.” Illinois tugged on the string. “I was waiting for you to ask about this.”

“I was just letting yous do your thing,” Yancy said. 

“The cave changes in the night.” Illinois lowered his voice to a whisper, wiggling his fingers and letting out an ‘oo’, trying to sound ‘spooky’. 

“Changes? How?” Yancy just tilted his head in curiosity. 

“The walls move.” Illinois slumped in disappointment, having wanted more of a reaction. 

“The walls move?” 

“They shift and cause the path to change, hence the string so we’re able to track where we’ve been and head back out to the truck when we need more supplies.” 

“That’s really cool!” Yancy looked at one of the cave walls before rushing over to it, patting the wall with his hands. “Are they sentient or somethin’?” Yancy pressed an ear against the wall. “Can the breathe? Can they hear us?” Yancy gasped as he lifted his head and looked up. “Can they see us?” 

“I’m pretty sure none of the above is correct.” Illinois chuckled as Yancy kept slapping at the wall. “It’s a curse. Some magic man came in here and did it.” 

“Magic?” Yancy was perking up once again. “Like a wizard or a witch?” 

“Not sure what title they go by, but I know that they used this as their lair for decades.” Illinois couldn’t but enjoy the look of wonder in Yancy’s eyes, just like when the cave first came up. “He was known for dark magic, raising the dead, blood manipulation, potions that could change the mind and soul.” 

“Do you think he could still be here?” Yancy went over to Illinois, looking around then in paranoia. 

“They said he died but no one found the body, so who knows?” Illinois smirked when Yancy puffed up and sniffed.

“If he shows up, I’ll kick his ass,” Yancy stated.

“I don’t doubt that.” Illinois chuckled, ruffling Yancy’s hair as Yancy flailed out in protest. 


	12. A Rocky Mess

“Is that a pond?” Yancy pointed before going ahead of Illinois and to the collection of water. “It’s a pond.” 

“It’s definitely a collection of water of sorts.” Illinois crouch down and dipped a finger into the water. He brought the finger to his face, sniffed it and then dabbed his tongue on it. “And it’s fresh. Probably rainwater or just condensation.” 

“There’s running water.” Yancy had his ear to the ground. “It’s none of the above.” 

“A stream? Underneath?” Illinois went down and pressed his ear to the ground as well, hearing the moving water. “I wonder if that means there are more collections like this.” Illinois sat up and slipped off his backpack. 

“Maybe a stream from far away started to dip down and ended up under the cave?” Yancy suggested. “But how does it work since the cave rises?” Yancy moved so he was now sitting on his rear, tucking a hand under his chin as he thought and Illinois was digging in his bag. “Maybe everything is at a downwards angle and it just evens out when the cave rises or is still at a slight tilt.” Yancy held an arm out to show what he meant. 

“That’s...holy shit you might be right.” Illinois tossed a spool of bright blue thread. “Now the question is if it’s a natural phenomenon or something the witch created.” Illinois pulled out a compact shovel. “We can find the stream underneath and follow the flow of it to see if there are more exposed collections of water.” 

“And the thread?” Yancy asked.

“So we can keep count of where and how many there are. If we keep count of anything else different in this cave, there may be a correlation in numbers that the witch liked and will help us find the idol.” Illinois was practically bouncing as he spoke, eyes wide with excitement. Yancy thought he looked like an overly-excited puppy. And it was contagious. 

“Hell yeah!” Yancy laughed and took off his own bag to get his shovel. “Let’s dig!” 

x~x~x

“You said the walls change, right?” Yancy asked, running a finger along it as he and Illinois walked. 

“That’s what the research says.” Illinois looked behind him and saw the four blue string and one red were working just fine. They’ve found more mini ponds, some with fish or frogs in them and even bushes with berries on them. 

“We’ve been in here a whole week and I haven’t seen any changes,” Yancy commented. “Everything looks the same.” 

“Maybe they were just rumors.” Illinois shrugged. “But it’s better to be safe than sorry.” 

“Haven’t heard anything at night either, I don’t think walls can shift silently.” Yancy gave the wall a knock, feeling that it was solid. 

“Maybe they levitate,” Illinois said with a chuckle. “They just take flight.” 

“Are they soring?” 

“They flying.” The two stopped to laugh. 

“I can’t believe yous caught that reference.” Yancy had to bend over from laughing so hard.

“I didn’t think you’d ever make it.” Illinois took off his hat and fanned his face. 

“I watch all musicals, all of them and those are a monthly ritual back…” Yancy’s laugh suddenly dropped. “Back at the prison.” 

“I watched it with Mrs. Policzek a lot.” Illinois’ mood dropped as well. “She thought they were a hoot.” 

“How did she die?” Yancy suddenly asked. “Jimmy just said that was most likely the reason she stopped seeing me but I never got to hear what happened.” 

“Heart gave out.” Illinois tapped at his chest with two fingers. “Happened in her sleep, there was no pain.” 

“I’m glad it didn’t hurt.” Yancy scuffed a foot against the ground. “Remember when she would hit me in the head with a broom when she heard I stole somethin’?” 

“When I told her about the police scanner, she hit me.” Illinois smiled at the memory. “She said I was supposed to carry it on.” 

“Yous don’t have a broom, so yous can’t.” Yancy covered his head anyways. 

“Remember her lemon squares?” Illinois said. “They were the best in the block.”

“She gave me a whole tray once and I ate it on sitting. I can still feel the stomach ache from that.” Yancy rubbed his stomach. “It was worth it, though.” 

“Speaking of food, we’re at the halfway point. We should head back and restock.” Illinois took out a pocket knife and cut the red string. “We’ll just follow this back and we’ll be back at the mouth.” Illinois took out a spike and wrapped the string around it, stabbing it into the ground before stomping on it to get it flat in there. 

“Backtracking, exciting.” Yancy blew a raspberry as he turned around and started walking ahead of Illinois. 

“Do you want to carry months worth of supplies on your back?” Illinois asked in a teasing tone. 

“I think I could handle it.” Yancy held his arms up and flexed. 

“Maybe so.” Illinois’ held out the words as he looked at Yancy’s arms. He definitely had plenty of muscle to him and while Illinois had plenty of his own, they just looked a lot different on Yancy and Illinois couldn’t help himself from admiring them. 

“Oh, shit.” Yancy cursed.

“Oh, shit, what?” Illinois snapped out of his trance and went next to Yancy. “Oh, shit.” 

The two were greeted by a cave wall and when they looked at the ground, they found that the string was under it. The walls did move and they lifted. “You have to be kidding me.” Illinois picked up the string and tugged once. “You have to be fucking kidding me.” Illinois yanked this time and there was a sharp snap, the string breaking. 

“Look out!” Yancy tackled Illinois when the rock above them suddenly gave out and fell where Illinois had just been. Illinois ended up on his back and Yancy landed on top of him. “Yous okay?” Yancy asked, not yet realizing how they were. 

“I mean, I got a great view.” Illinois grinned.

“Yous got a...oh.” Yancy rolled away, his cheeks warming up.

“Thanks for saving me.” 

“Yous would have been fine, a headache at worse.” Yancy shrugged.

“I’m still thankful.” Illinois gave Yancy a smile. Yancy smiled back and rested his cheek on his knees. 

“It looks like out trip’s been extended.”

“Sure does.”


	13. Four Blue Strings

“Maybe we can follow the blue string back?” Yancy suggested, he and Illinois still sitting on the ground and looking at the cave wall that ruined their path. 

“That’s what I was thinking,” Illinois said. “If we can find the other end of the red string somewhere, we’ll be able to get out.” 

“Yous sound angry,” Yancy said as Illinois got up, grunting as he stretched out his back by rolling his shoulders. 

“I’m angry at myself.” Illinois rolled the spool of red string so it wasn’t dragging behind him anymore. He was debating if he wanted to attach it to the wall to prevent them from going in circles, but he felt like the red string was basically worthless after getting this new information. 

“Yourself?” Yancy stayed on the ground. 

“I should have known better, I should have had a backup plan.” Illinois rubbed at his face. “It’s different when it’s only me here, I can’t have another-” Illinois stopped himself. 

“Illy?” Yancy saw that Illinois was just staring at his hands. “Illinois?” 

“Let’s get going.” Illinois snapped out of his trance. “The sooner we find one of those ponds, the better.” 

“We can wait a little longer if yous-”

“We’ll need to start looking for anything else that can make a fire, my lighter only has so much fluid in it and we’ll need to be able to cook the fish and frogs we will most likely have to catch,” Illinois spoke as if his moment from before never happened and Yancy wasn’t sure what to do about it. Whenever he had a moment, the other inmates would ask if he wanted to talk about it and talking helped him nine out of ten times but he wasn’t sure if he should do the same for Illinois. Jimmy said it can be different for everyone. Tiny needed distracted when she got lost in her moments, maybe Illinois was like that? 

“We got anything sharp that I can make a shiv out of to stab the fish?” Yancy asked, finally getting up to his own feet. 

“You want to shiv the fish?” Illinois smiled when he saw how determined Yancy looked.

“Yeah! Yous got to get them somehow.” Yancy made a stabbing motion with his hand.

“Ever fished before? With a fishing rod?” Illinois’ mood was much better as the two walked.

“I know what fishing is, but what’s the chance yous…” Yancy paused for a moment. “Yous have a fishin’ pole, don’t ya?” He asked through pursed lips. 

“There’s a strong possibility that I may or may not have a portable fishing rod in both of our backpacks.” 

“Yous could have told me before I went about my talk of shanking fish.” Yancy pouted a little, crossing his arms to match his puffed out lower lip. 

“I was letting you have your fun,” Illinois said with a shrug, trying to hide his smirk. 

“Yous was being rude.” Yancy poked at Illinois’ upper arm. 

“I was having a little fun myself,” Illinois admitted. “And thankfully the last pond we were at wasn’t that far away. We should be...oh, for fuck’s sake.” 

“That’s not good.” Yancy groaned when they were, once again, looking at a wall and this time it had one of the blue strings under it. 

“We’ll try the next one.” Illinois cut the string and immediately started following another one. Yancy didn’t like how this was going and neither was Illinois.

“We still have two more.” Yancy tried to sound cherry when they were at another wall. Illinois didn’t say anything this time and just cut the string, grabbed the next one, and walked. 

Neither of them said anything when they were now down to their last string. They didn’t want to voice anything at the risk of jinxing themselves. 

“Oh, thank everything!” Yancy exclaimed at the sight of a pond. He took off to the water while Illinois went to the string’s end. “Hey, little fishies, get ready to be eaten.” Yancy couldn’t help himself from being silly. Illinois, on the other hand, was looking around to see if he could recognize where they were. He had nothing and he hated that he had nothing. 

“It’s going to be night soon, Yanc. We should probably set ca-amp!” Illinois let out a yelp when the dirt beneath his feet suddenly gave up on him and sent him flying into the pond. 

“Illy!” Yancy’s shout was a mixture of worry and laughter since he knew Illinois would be fine but wasn’t a thousand present sure. Illinois easily got himself out of the water, reaching into his shirt and pulling out a fish. 

“Caught one.” He chuckled. “You can get to work on that while I change and dry off.” Illinois handed Yancy the fish, laughing himself when Yancy wasn’t ready and struggled for a moment. “Lesson learned about the ponds, they’re dicks,” Illinois added, slipping off his bag and thankful that everything inside of it was still perfectly dry. Spending that extra money was definitely worth it. 

Yancy pinned the fish to the ground, grabbed a nearby rock and used it to bash the fish’s head in, getting its misery done and over with. He didn’t want to fish to suffer any longer than necessary. Yancy got into his bag and dug around for tools to use to clean and gut the fish. He figured Illinois could take care of making the fire if he was prepping the food. They were most likely going to need more than this one fish, but it was a nice start. 

“This must be the fishing pole yous were talking about.” Yancy pulled out the folded up pole and looked at Illinois, face going red when he saw him. Illinois wasn’t wearing his shirt and his hair was still dripping wet. Yancy’s eyes weren’t able to look away from the other man’s chest and arms and...everything. 

“Yanc?” Yancy wasn’t sure what or where the sound that forced its way out of his throat came from but it was something that got Illinois to laugh. “You good there?” 

“Yeah! Yeah! I thought I saw something, that’s all.” Yancy hid his face back into the backpack, pretending to be on an intense search for something. 

Illinois caught all of that though and had a wicked plan come to mind. He stood up and noticed Yancy stiffening when he started undoing his belt. Illinois took off his shoes, socks, pants and when the underwear was off, he tossed them into Yancy’s line of sight, telling him all that he needed to know. Yancy let out the same sound from before and practically stuck his head into the backpack like he was an ostrich in the sand. Illinois knew that he shouldn’t laugh, but boy did he really want to. 


	14. Cold Cuddles

Yancy was crouched down low, body practically touching the ground as he slowly made his way towards a very large frog. The frog was facing the other way and staring out at nothing. Yancy paused when he got close enough and when the frog didn’t move, he leaped. 

“Gotcha!” Yancy held the frog with both hands and then he realized that he was stuck. He couldn’t hold the frog with one hand without it getting away. 

“Do you want some help there?” Illinois offered, fishing pole in his own hands. 

“I got this,” Yancy said with a huff. 

“Alright.” Illinois chuckled, half watching the bobber and half watching Yancy struggle. Dinner with a show, who could complain? 

It had been several more days since they discovered the walls moving at night and they had found another pond, one they had seen before and it gave them hope of being closer to the exit. Illinois knew that when they got out, he’d set up a new plan to ensure that he can get the treasure but would Yancy be willing to wait for that? He agreed to go on this one trip and it would technically be over or at least on hiatus for a while. Would Yancy want to go back to the prison? Illinois thought he would have a lot more time before that worry would pop up but now he doesn’t know how long he has. There was no plan, there was no structure and Illinois hated it. 

“I did it!” Yancy was now holding up a dead frog. “We’re eating fancy tonight!” 

“If you can figure out how to cook it.” Illinois chuckled. At least he’d be able to enjoy what time they had together now. 

“Oh, I’ll cook it. I’ll cook it good.” Yancy said as if he had been challenged and he went over to their little fire. Yancy had gotten really good at making fires during all of this, he could do it almost as fast as Illinois. He was a fast learner and would listen with such interest in his large, round, lovely eyes and Illinois had to shake his head to get his thoughts back to fishing. 

The two sat in comfortable silence for a while, just calmly doing what they’re doing and enjoying each other’s company. Yancy ended up making a mess of the frog but saved the legs and they were cooking on the fire when Illinois came over with a small fish in hand. 

“They weren’t really biting,” Illinois said, sitting next to Yancy. 

“You could jump in there again and catch ‘em with your chest,” Yancy suggested with a chuckle.

“You just want to see me shirtless again.” Illinois winked.

“Shut up.” Yancy lightly punched Illinois’ arm.

“I’ll try again when we get up, I’m more tired than hungry at this point.” Illinois started working on gutting the fish. 

“I’ll just catch us a lot of frogs, too.” Yancy poked at the cooking frog legs. 

“You’re going to make the cave frogs extinct.” Illinois wished the fish was just a little bigger so he and Yancy could share it since he knew Yancy would refuse and only eat the frog. 

“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” Yancy laughed. 

The two fell into a soft silence again, cooking their food and eating it with no words needing to be said. They sometimes would just make a face and that told the other what they needed. It was nice to just be able to be in a space with someone without fear of always needing to say something. Yancy remembered how that rarely happened at the prison, someone was always saying something, making some kind of noise and he didn’t know he could enjoy the quiet until he had it with Illinois. 

“Time for bed,” Illinois grunted as he went to his supplies, unrolling his sleeping matt. 

“Time for bed,” Yancy echoed and did the same. 

“I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten cold at night,” Illinois said.

“Is it supposed to?” Yancy asked.

“The caves that I’ve been in usually do, but this is no normal cave. I mean, I can’t find the light source and it does dark when it’s night.” Illinois opened his matt and went in. 

“The cold doesn’t bother me.” Yancy shrugged. 

“Sure.” Illinois fluffed up his pillow. 

“I…” Yancy’s voice trailed off and, as if the world was listening to them and got upset, everything suddenly got very cold. “Yous got to be shittin’ me,” Yancy grumbled. 

“I thought you’re fine with the cold.” Illinois teased, clearly unbothered by the shift. 

“I am.” Yancy pouted and curled up into a tight ball in his matt.

“Yanc, you’re going to freeze on your own,” Illinois stated. 

“I’m fine.” Yancy was already shivering a little. 

“You’re not used to this, come into my matt.” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Yanc.” Yancy looked at Illinois when his name was said that time, the tone in Illinois’ voice a little different. He was actually worried about Yancy and Yancy used that as an internal excuse of ‘he was only doing this for Illinois, no other reason.’ 

“Fine.” Yancy rolled out of his mat and went over to Illinois’, crawling in and was chest-to-chest with Illinois. Yancy did have to admit that it was much warmer in Illinois’ matt than his had been. Was Illinois a human furnace or something? Yancy crossed his arms and hid his face by looking down, trying to have space between them but it was impossible, he could feel himself pushing the matt and it felt like it was going to break. 

“I need to move my arm,” Illinois said, shifting both of them as he moved and ended up getting himself and Yancy even closer together, chests touching. “Hey.” 

“Yous doing this on purpose,” Yancy grumbled. 

“At least you’re warm and are you really complaining?” Illinois couldn’t help from laughing a little when Yancy’s response was to just hide his face again, this time using Illinois’ chest. 

“Warm-ass, soft-ass, bitch.” Yancy’s voice was muffled as he grumbled even more. 

“I’ll be sure to put that title on my business cards,” Illinois said, a yawn following it. Yancy just hummed and was more comfortable than he thought he would be, just wanting to fall asleep now. “Night, Yanc.” 

“Night.” 


	15. Falling For You

“Yancy, I need to get up.” Illinois chuckled when Yancy just mumbled and stayed where he was in the sleeping bag, arms wrapped around Illinois, and preventing him from getting out. “You have to let go of me.” More mumbles from Yancy, clearly not awake enough to know what he was doing. “Yanc~” Illinois sang directly into Yancy’s ear, getting Yancy to react enough to wake up. 

“Wha…” Yancy used his shoulder to rub his ear and he sniffed. “What?” 

“I need to use the restroom,” Illinois said. 

“Okay? And yous had to wake me for that?” Yancy was too comfortable to move, everything was nice and soft and warm. 

“You’re kind of holding me.” Illinois bit back his grin when Yancy finally opened his eyes and saw what Illinois meant. 

“Oh...well.” Yancy pressed his face against Illinois’ chest. “Guess you’re trapped here.”

“Yancy! I gotta pee!” Illinois exaggerated his ‘wail of pain’ as he wiggled. 

“Suffer.” Yancy held on to Illinois tighter. 

“We’ll both suffer if you leave me in here.” Illinois chuckled and shifted his body, this time with enough force to get Yancy on his back with Illinois above him. 

“Yous ruined my perfect sleeping position,” Yancy whined, playfully slapping at Illinois’ shoulders. 

“I could put you in a better position.” Illinois winked.

“Maybe you-” 

“Shit!” Illinois quickly scrambled out of the sleeping bag and took off, leaving Yancy to stare up at the cave ceiling with wide eyes.

Yancy knew what he was going to say in response. He knew what he was going to be implying and he could feel his face burning at that thought and the afterthought of what his reaction may have caused. That thought made Yancy curl up into the sleeping bag and pray for a certain part of him to calm down and wishing that there was some more privacy in the cave.

“Sorry for bolting, I really had to go,” Illinois said with a laugh as he went back over to the bag, seeing Yancy was now fully hidden in there. He must have been pretty tired still to go back down that quickly. Illinois decided it was time to make some breakfast, maybe the smell of food would get him out of ‘bed’ completely. It’s been a routine for a good week, sleep in the same bag for warmth, and the first one up made food. 

Illinois easily made a small fire, just enough so he could cook some fish. He was hoping they would either run into another pond or get out of here soon. They were running low on food and clean water. They had to be close to the exit. They  _ had  _ to be.

He was now sitting next to the fire and he heard Yancy get up and shuffle over to him, taking a seat beside him, the sleeping bag wrapped around him still. 

“I remember when you could barely climb a tree without falling out of it at least three times,” Yancy said, staring into the flames. “I’d help hoist yous up to the lowerest branch.” 

“You threw me up there like I weighed nothing.” Illinois chuckled.

“You did weigh nothing.” Yancy chuckled as well. “My wrist was bigger than your thigh.” 

“I wasn’t that small.” 

“Yous were tiny.” 

“Maybe you were just large.” Illinois raised a brow and laughed when Yancy let out a scoff of offense. 

“I was a growin’ boy!” Yancy couldn’t keep a straight face himself after saying that. 

“Remember when I got stuck on the school roof?” Illinois asked after catching his breath. 

“How could I forget that? The principal was screaming at the top of his lungs; ‘Get the police! Get the fire department! Get the pope!’” Yancy shrugged off the sleeping bag, laughing loudly. “I had no idea what the pope was gonna do about a teenager stuck on a roof, but he was gonna try everything.” 

“That was the first time I was on TV.” Illinois took off his hat and looked inside of it with a smile. “I was the town celebrity for a good week.” 

“I also remember when I got that hat for ya.” Yancy leaned over. “I still can’t believe after all these years yous still wearin’ it.” 

“How could I not? It’s my main inspiration.” Illinois reached in and pulled out a tag that read ‘go get ‘em’ in scratchy handwriting. “It also gave me my name.”

“How?” Yancy asked. 

“It’s a little silly, but-” Illinois flipped over the tag and read; “Made in Illinois.” 

“You created an entirely different person based on a hat’s tag?” Yancy took the hat to get a better look. 

“It just worked.” Illinois rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. 

“That’s dedication,” Yancy said.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Illinois looked at Yancy. “How we basically switched after all this time.” 

“I’m still tough.” Yancy played with the brim of the hat. 

“You are. And you’re brave and smart but I’m no longer the stuttering shy kid I used to be and you’re the blushing one now.” 

“I-I’m not blushing-” Yancy swallowed when he saw that he and Illinois were face-to-face, only inches away from each other. 

“Are you sure?” Illinois whispered.

“No,” Yancy whispered back. 

“We could try…”

“We could…”

Yancy and Illinois jerked away from each other when there was a loud sound started echoing around them. It sounded like glass shattering and large objects falling and even thunder but what got them the most was a gunshot. Yancy scrambled to his feet, hands up in fists when he thought he saw something in the shadows.

“I don’t have guns, I don’t.” Illinois was trying to figure out what that sound was. 

“That’s a person! Hey! Hey!” Yancy took off. 

“Yancy! Don’t!” Illinois got up to his feet but he was knocked back over when the ground started to shake. “Shit! Yancy! Yancy, wait!” Illinois saw that Yancy was struggling to keep going. Yancy could feel something pulling at him, something was making him want to keep going. 

“Hey, Hey!” Yancy kept calling out, the person just looking like a shadow, looking like darkness. “Can you hear me!? Hey!” 

“Yancy! Come back!” Illinois could not get back on his feet. “Yancy!”

“He-” Yancy’s call soon became a scream. 

“Yancy!” Illinois cried out when the ground finally gave in, swallowing Yancy whole. “Yancy! Yancy, no!” Illinois could finally get to his feet and he sprinted over to the pit. He fell over and stared into the pit, only able to see dark. “No, no, no!” Illinois screamed, voice clawing his throat. “Yancy! No! No!” 


	16. Caught

“Hey, Illinois! Look at this!” A young woman...Kalie called from further down the tunnel. 

“I think we need to get out.” Illinois didn’t like the feeling of the walls. They felt weak. 

“I think this can show us the right way to go!” Kalie bounced a little with excitement. “It’s like a map or-” She stopped when there was a loud rumble above them. 

“Run!” Illinois barely got a few steps in before the ceiling collapsed on them. Illinois was knocked over but quickly recovered, coughing out the dust that tried to get into his lungs. “Kalie!? Kalie!?” Illinois turned around and only saw a pile of rubble. “Kalie!” He screamed. “Kalie, no! No!” 

x~x~x

“Would you look at that?” A young man chuckled before slapping Illinois’ rear as he walked past. 

“Hey now, watch those hands of yours.” Illinois laughed, turning towards  ~~_ Mitch-Mike- _ ~~ Myles...

“Only if I get to see them under you.” Myles winked and spun on his heel, walking into the cave ahead of Illinois. 

“You’ve been getting bold.” Illinois paused, seeing a strange _**pink** _flower sticking out of a crack in the wall. 

“I’ve learned from the best.” Myles laughed, voice getting softer as he got further and further away. 

“This flower shouldn’t be here.” Illinois gently grabbed the stem of the flower and plucked it, dropping it when a loud screech echoed around him. “Myles!” Illinois took off. 

That metal sounded like one of the traps. Illinois had told Myles to not stray off too far without him. There was no way it was that. It had to be something else. Anything else. “Myles!” Illinois almost vomited when he saw the spears that were sticking out of one and pinning Myles to the other.

x~x~x

“Hold my hand?”  ~~_ Yanc _ ~~ -Nancy asked, a soft smile on her lips.

“I thought you weren’t scared of the dark.” Illinois teased, taking the woman’s hand anyway. 

“I’m not.”  _ N-Nan- _ Nancy pouted, scratching at her neck. A flower tattoo changing becoming more of a box in once glance but returning to normal in the next. The two went into a dark section of the cave.

“Because you’re a tough girl, right?” Illinois laughed when Nancy puffed her cheeks out. “We’ll be out of this area soon-”

“Ah!” Nancy screamed and Illinois was suddenly no longer holding anything. 

“Nancy? Nancy!? Nancy!” 

x~x~x   
Illinois was taken away from his study of a collection of stones when he heard rocks falling. There shouldn’t be a cave in here? How did that happen? 

Illinois went towards the sound and saw two people. One was a man that looked strangely similar to himself and the other...Illinois stepped to the side when a circular rock suddenly dislodged itself and rolled towards the man. The man screamed and ran off, but Illinois could only look at the other person. 

They looked at Illinois as well, blinking a few times before waving. Their body became a strange shade of gray and Illinois just stared, static filling his ears and the person...glitched?

_Gl-Glitched_

**_Glitched_ **

~~_ Gl- _ ~~

_ x~x~x _

As if punched in the head, Illinois was suddenly back in the present, staring down the hole that had swallowed Yancy. 

“Yancy!” Illinois called out again. 

“I’m on the wall!” Yancy’s voice brought tears to Illinois’ eyes. “I’m stuck!” 

“Just stay calm, I’ll get you!” Illinois scrambled up and rushed over to his bag. He fumbled as he took out his climbing supplies, it wasn’t much but it should be enough to save Yancy. 

Illinois stamped the latch into the ground and gave it a harsh tug, satisfied that it didn’t move at all. His hands were trembling as he slid the rope through his belt loops and tied a thick knot at the front. Illinois tossed the rope into the hole and he started his climb down without a second thought. 

“I don’t-I don’t know how long I can hold on!” Yancy grunted, hands cramping.

“I’m almost there, just hold on for one more moment.” Illinois took a bigger leap than he normally would, finally seeing the top of Yancy’s head. “I’m here! I’m here!” Illinois did one more jump and landed right next to Yancy. Yancy looked at Illinois with wide eyes, the fear glossing them. Illinois wrapped an arm around the other man and pulled him in. “I got you, I got you, it’s okay,” Illinois grunted as he pulled himself and Yancy up. Yancy just clung to Illinois, reaching out when they were close to the ledge and helping lift both of them up for the last bit. 

“God…” Yancy gasped out when they were finally safe. 

“I did it, holy shit I did it.” Illinois laughed in disbelief. “I saved-I saved you.” 

“Illy…” Yancy couldn’t keep his breathing even. His heart was racing as he looked at Illinois. They were sitting close together and Illinois was too bust celebrating to realize it. 

“After all these years and after so many failures! I finally did it! I’m not a killer!” Illinois finally looked at Yancy. “I can keep you safe, I can keep someone I care about safe! I-” He stopped when he saw that Yancy was just staring at him. “Are you okay, Yanc? Did you get hurt?” 

“I’m not hurt.” Yancy felt everything rushing everywhere and he knew what it meant. What he’s been ignoring for so long. What he’s been running from. What he’s been denying. 

“Are you sure? Maybe we should let you lay down some-” Illinois went to move but Yancy caught him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and yanking him in so that their lips touched. 

Was Illinois expecting to be kissed? No. Was he complaining? Absolutely not. 

Illinois quickly took over the kiss and placed his hands on Yancy’s waist, pressing them closer together. Yancy loosened his grip on Illinois’ shirt, allowing himself to be moved to his back. 

“I...I don’t know how-” Yancy’s comment became a shout from both men when the ground gave in under them, becoming a slide that sent them tumbling down into the hole once more. 


	17. A New Life?

Yancy and Illinois both grunted when they landed, their fall lasting only moments. Illinois was the first up and Yancy stayed on the ground, looking around in confusion.

“That’s not possible.” Illinois looked up and saw the hole they had fallen through. If he jumped, he could touch the bottom of it, he could put Yancy on his shoulder and climb back up it. “That is not possible.” 

“Was there a second hole?” Yancy stood, staring up as well. 

“It’s the same one, you can see the rope I used.” Illinois tugged on the rope that was still tied around him and showed it was attached to the hook he had stamped into the ground.

“There’s no way.” Yancy grabbed the rope for himself and pulled, feeling the resistance. “I had fallen so far before catching the wall.” Yancy yanked again. “Yous had to save me.” Yancy jumped when he pulled this time and he fumbled over when the rope stayed where it was. Illinois caught him and gave Yancy a moment to calm down. 

“This place is messing with us,” Illinois said.

“It’s a cave. It’s just a bunch of rocks, it can’t do anything.” Yancy scoffed, stepping away so Illinois could get the rope off of himself. 

“Remember what I told you about this place. Magic has an effect on it.” Illinois reached into his back pocket and took out a knife. “Yes, the cave is just a bunch of rocks, but the person who cursed it isn’t.” Illinois started to cut the rope. 

“Are we not climbing back up? All of our stuff’s up there.” 

“We can’t go back up, something tells me we’re blocked from it.” Illinois looped what rope he could get and he slung it over his shoulder. 

“So what do we do then?” Yancy asked. He wasn’t expecting for Illinois to pop a finger into his mouth and hold it up in the air. 

“We follow the breeze. There’s a chance we’ll be out of here before nightfall.” 

“What makes yous say that?” 

“Explorer gut.” Illinois knocked on his stomach and started walking, Yancy sighed and took a couple of quick steps so he was walking next to Illinois now. 

There was silence between them as they walked. It wasn’t their usual comfortable silence that ould sometimes happen, something about it was awkward. There was a tenseness in the air that mostly came from Yancy. There was no way to just causally continue without mentioning it. 

“So...that-uh...that kiss?” Yancy rubbed at his neck. 

“Yeah?” Illinois kept his tone even and calm, even though thinking about the kiss made him feel a little giddy. He really had hoped their first kiss together would have ended a little less chaotically, but it was them and it seemed fitting. 

“Was I...was I any good?” Yancy was now picking at his fingers. “I haven’t really...k-kissed anyone before.” Yancy was stopped by Illinois’ arm. 

“Really?” Illinois moved so that he and Yancy were facing each other. 

“Y-Yeah. I-I didn’t really like anyone in the-in the jail like-like that and I was too caught up in...well...your letters.” Yancy was staring at the ground as he spoke. “So...was-was I-uh-okay?” 

“You were great.” Illinois had a small smile. For someone that could throw a man across a room, Yancy looked adorable right now. 

“I was? I-I...cool and uh...you-yous were also...good.” Yancy stammered out.

“Do you want to do it again?” Illinois asked with a chuckle, assuming Yancy would just blush and hide. 

“Yes.” That was unexpected. 

“You do?” Illinois moved in a little closer when Yancy nodded, finally looking up at Illinois. 

Illinois waited a moment and when it came clear that Yancy wanted him to make the first move, he did. Illinois placed one hand on Yancy’s waist and the other on his cheek and stepped into a kiss. Yancy was stiff at first but slowly relaxed against Illinois and kept his hands at Illinois’ chest, knowing that was a safe place to put them. Yancy liked this feeling, the softness of it how it made him feel so warm. If he would have known kissing was this nice, he might have tried it a long time ago. Yancy was going to try moving his hands, maybe he’ll run them through Illinois’ hair, or try touching his waist or-

“Fuckin’ shit!” Yancy shouted his curse when there was a sudden and ear-splitting shriek. “What was that!?” 

“Can I have one normal kiss, damn it!” Illinois huffed and turned towards where the sound came from. “What…”

“No way…” 

“Way!” Illinois took Yancy’s hand and the two of them ran through the hole in the wall, running outside. “We did it! We made it!” Illinois laughed and danced around in a circle with Yancy. 

“Yous getting me dizzy.” Yancy laughed as well, stopping their little dance. “Let’s get to the truck and get out of here.” Yancy’s smile slowly started to fade as he looked around. “Where’s the truck?” 

“It should be somewhere.” Illinois turned around and felt his heart drop when he only saw sand. “Where’s the tr-truck.” Illinois slapped a hand over his mouth, why did his voice skip like that?

“Something doesn’t feel right.” Yancy kicked at the dirt and the dust went down way too fast. “Are we st-still in the ca-cave?” Yancy covered his own mouth when an urge to vomit hit him. Illinois grimaced when a sharp noise filled his head.

“Static?” Illinois stumbled over to Yancy. “We need to go.” Illinois tried to get Yancy to move but Yancy was beginning to curl up. 

“It hurts...what’s happening?” Yancy latched to Illinois’ arm. 

“Sorry about that. I’m having a little bit of difficulty controlling that here.” Illinois covered Yancy with his body as much as he could when a voice echoed around them. 

“Who are you!? Show yourself!” Illinois demanded, straining to sound tough but the buzzing behind his eyes was making it hard. 

“I’ve been trying since you’ve entered that damned cave.” Illinois blinked once and he finally saw the body that the voice belonged to. 

“Who the hell?” Yancy couldn’t stand all the way but tried as much as he could when he saw the stranger as well. 

Gray skin, black eyes, and hair, a body that wore a white suit but kept flashing in different places and positions. They held their hands behind their back and had a chilling calm to them. 

“You’ve been here for far too long. You’ve gotten lost.” The person stated. 

“Back off!” Illinois took his knife back out and pointed it towards the stranger. 

“Cute.” The person chuckled. 

“I got this.” Yancy took the knife from Illinois and pushed himself out of Illinois’ hold. “Run, Illy, I’ll take care of ‘em.” 

“You’ll take care of me? You can barely stand, let alone fight.” The person took a moment to hum and then they tilted their head. “I like the drive you two have. It’ll be very useful.” 

“Who are you!?” Illinois demanded, stepping so he was next to Yancy. 

“That’ll be explained later, but now, let’s go home.” The person held a hand up. 

“No, you’ll-” Illinois was stopped when the person snapped their fingers and everything went-

_ Dark _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet Y’all didn’t see that coming  
> Thank you to everyone that’s been reading this story and stay tuned for the sequel ‘A New Life’  
> Wonder how many of those hints throughout the story about the twist y’all were able to catch? Some are more obvious than others ;)


End file.
